The invention relates to a wall anchor for reinforcing and/or securing walls.
From the subsequently published patent application 199 21 873.0, wall blocks for erecting masonry are known, which at their upper side have a plurality of protruding, knob-like projections and, at their underside, appropriately positioned and appropriately shaped depressions. These wall blocks enable masonry to be erected without mortar in the joints. At each wall block, at least one opening is provided, which passes through the wall block and the position of which is selected so that the openings of several wall blocks, placed on top of one another and optionally also offset to one another, complement one another into an opening passing through the whole of the masonry. Since such wall blocks, as described, make possible stone constructions without mortar in the joints, that is, the wall blocks are not connected with one another over a layer of mortar, it is necessary, especially when erecting higher masonry, to reinforce or secure these. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wall anchor, which permits walls to be reinforced and/or secured simply and which can be set in a simple way.
This objective is accomplished by a wall anchor for reinforcing and/or securing walls consisting of an elongated anchor section, which is constructed to pass through an opening of one or more wall bricks and at which at least one abutment is provided, which can be pushed into the opening or over which a brick can be pushed and which is braced in the opening against movement of the wall anchor or of the brick in the opposite direction.
The inventive wall anchor is pushed easily with its anchor section and the thereto attached abutment into the opening, the abutment being braced in the opening against being retracted from it. The mode of operation can also be reversed, in that a brick is pushed over an already set wall anchor, the abutment, over which the brick is then pushed, in this case also being wedged in the opening. At the anchor section, only one abutment may be provided which, for example, is positioned in a lower region of the masonry that is to be erected. The longitudinal anchor section then extends through the openings of the masonry as a whole, which are aligned with one another, and protrudes from the upper side. This makes it possible to provide a fastening section at this free piece for a roof beam or the like, which extends horizontally with respect to the masonry. Of course, it is also possible to provide several abutments at the wall anchor, which act in opposite directions with respect to a movement of the brick or anchor and, in this way, secure and reinforce the whole of the masonry.
The abutment or abutments may be constructed claw-shaped or hookshaped, as long as adequate bracing is made possible by these means. It is particularly appropriate if the abutment or abutments are constructed disk-shaped, since a large contacting surface between the edge of the abutment and the inner wall of the opening results from these means. In this case, it has proven to be advantageous for improving the bracing if, pursuant to the invention, one or more slots or the like are provided for making possible an elastic contact between the abutment and the inner wall. Moreover, the abutment or abutments can be pre-molded for bracing at the inner wall of the opening, for example, in the form of a truncated cone or conically for a circular opening or in the form of a truncated pyramid in the case of a rectangular opening. Alternatively, it is also possible to construct the abutments so that they can be deformed appropriately while being pushed into the opening. Pursuant to the invention, the abutment or abutments itself or themselves can be fixed irremovably to the anchor section, for example, by welding. Alternatively, a removable fastening is also possible, so that the abutment is only set in case of need. For fastening the abutment, at least one seat for a fastening splint or bolt can be provided at the anchor section. It has proven to be appropriate to dispose several seats, distributed over the length of the anchor section, in order to specify certain possible choices with respect to positioning the abutment or abutments.
It has been described above that the wall anchor passes through the masonry over a considerable distance, especially in the case of higher masonry. Consequently, the wall anchor must be correspondingly long. It has therefore proven to be advantageous if the wall anchor, pursuant to the invention, consists of two anchor parts with one anchor section each, which can be connected together. The anchor section accordingly is divided into two and can be extended by the user, if required. This has proven to be advantageous also for transporting reasons. At the same time, a connecting section may be provided at one end of each anchor section. The connecting sections can be connected together by means of connecting elements. Alternatively, pursuant to the invention, a connecting section may be provided at one anchor section part and a connecting element, which can be connected with the connecting section, provided at the other section part. Therefore, in one case, the connecting element is a separate component and, in the other, it is connected firmly with an anchor section part. The connecting section or sections and the connecting element can interact in the form of a plug-in/locking piece coupling. However, from a manufacturing point of view, it has proven to be advantageous if the inventive connecting section is constructed as a threaded section and the connecting element as a threaded sleeve.
Pursuant to the invention, the anchor section and/or the abutment or abutments and/or the connecting element may consist of metal and especially of steel. A version in plastic is also possible.
Aside from the wall anchor itself, the invention furthermore relates to equipment for loosening a set wall anchor of the type described above. Pursuant to the invention, this comprises a sleeve-like insertion section for insertion into the opening of a brick and for accommodating the abutment, which can be compressed by means of the leading edge of the insertion section and detached from its braced position at the inner wall of the opening. This equipment very advantageously enables a braced abutment to be loosened, so that the wall block, braced by the abutment, can be loosened from the reinforced or secured masonry composite and pulled off. Since the masonry has no mortar in the joints, it can easily be removed completely by these means. To make the compression of the abutment simple, the inner edge of the leading edge should be sloped. Furthermore, it has proven to be advantageous for this if the external diameter of the insertion section, the cross-sectional shape of which is adapted to the opening, is only insignificantly smaller than the internal diameter of the opening, so that the leading edge of the insertion section can engage the edge of the abutment over as large an area as possible. The length of the insertion section should correspond at least to the depth of the opening. Pursuant to the invention, to make the handling of the equipment easy, laterally protruding, detachable handling sections are provided. The equipment may also consist of metal or plastic.
Further advantages, distinguishing features and details of the invention arise out of the examples described in the following as well as from the accompanying drawings.